You'll recall that Leonardo DiCaprio was once in the cast, but has departed for one reason or another. If memory serves -- and sometimes it doesn't -- Leonardo was interested in doing a motion capture performance for the feature. Be interesting to know why he ultimately decided not to do this production. (No mo cap? DreamWorks once flirted with motion capture for the first Shrek, but Jeffrey decided "meh" and the big green ogre was animated in the usual way.)

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comments:

Anonymous
said...

Is there a reason why they changed the title from "The Guardians of Childhood" to "Rise of the Guardians"?

The new title makes it sound that this is the sequel to "Legend of the Guardians", something you would think DreamWorks would like to avoid considering that the owl flick was a failure at the box office.

Thank God... THANK *GOD* for celebrity voice overs! No one would EVER see these movies without them! No one would be interested in a movie with a talking lizard without the knowledge that Johnny Depp was doing the voice!!! THANK YOU, celebrities, for legitimizing our humble little industry with your benevolent contributions! I don't know how we ever did it without you! THANK YOU, Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and Hugh Jackman! Without you and your inflated price tags, animated feature budgets might have found their way to actual artists and animators. And THANK YOU, genius executives, for initiating this policy and cultivating the belief that celebrity voices somehow matter. THANK YOU!Celebrities and executives... THANK GOD for them.

Is there a reason why they changed the title from "The Guardians of Childhood" to "Rise of the Guardians"?

I'm pretty sure it's because Jeffrey has no interest in doing animated films that are, or appear to be, aimed at kiddies. That's the reason DreamWorks' animated films never have child protagonists, and why a title that sounds like a children's story isn't going to be used.

As for confusion with the Owl movie, I don't think it's a worry. Relatively few people saw the Ga'Hoole, and many people who did see it couldn't remember the actual name of the thing a week later (one of the worst titles ever). Also, the films are going to be separated by an eternity in the movie world (over two years). Finally, one look at the actual movie, in the form of trailers, will dispel any hint that there is a connection.

So did DreamWorks build the mo-cap facility in the basement of the animation building on the Glendale campus for Leonardo, and now it's not going to be used for that? Or was it built for something else?

great gig for A list. limited risk to image, potentially HUGE reward. if the film tanks, it's the director's fault, and after all, it's just a kids movie, even if we all want to pretend it's not. what's not to love?

If an animated movie is a critical bomb, it's just a kids movie anyway.

If an animated movie is a critical success, it's a Timeless American Treasure, a Fairytale of the Ages, an Epic Myth that touches the deepest recesses of our Collective Unconscious Childhood. The Wizard of Oz of Our Generation.

I work at a movie theatre and I can assure you that people knew the name of Legend of the Guardians. Sure, lots of people asked for "the owl movie" but almost all said something with the word "Guardians" in it.

In fact, I can remember TWO specific instances where two separate customers asked for "Rise of the Guardians". I, from my experience, can almost guarantee that people will confused the films. At least as being part of the same franchise.

With animated movies, the general public has a warped sense of accreditation. The general public doesn't give a damn about a studio and doesn't know their Warner Bros from their Sony. It breaks down like this:

You think I'm joking? Stop somebody in a department store and ask them who made Madagascar. They won't know. But they'll guess Disney. I can't tell you how many times I had to tell people How to Train Your Dragon wasn't a Disney movie.

The general public doesn't know apples from oranges. There is a higher class of people, typically ones who actually enjoy watching animated films rather than simply sit their kids down for two hours and zone out, who know Disney/Pixar from DreamWorks, but nobody is going to remember "Oh, Legend of the Guardians? That was an Animal Logic production released by Warner Bros."

When the people see "Rise of the Guardians", they're going to think owls. If only from the advertising campaign.

I get "Tangled" vibes from this title change...except that "Tangled" was a hell of a lot more CLEVER change.

"The Guardians of Childhood" is a WONDERFUL title. Does Jeffery not realize that many people go to animated films because they formed that habit in childhood? Did the box office of the "Toy Story" films suffer because the child-friendly "Toy" was in the title?

Yes, HTTYD was the first non-adult protagonist in a DW film (that's one out of 22, if you're interested in counting). Of course, they aged Hiccup up from what he is in the source material (he's only 10 in the books), and he's not a kid by any means, but he's not quite an adult. In fact, the tests he's going though put him on the cusp of young adulthood.

And if you don't think the DW movies attract a considerable adult audience, then you're just willfully ignoring reality.

Dreamwork's casting philosophy has always been: "Acquire popular names first, then figure out a role for said person." Little regard, if any, is lent to the character/voice relationship. If a good relationship happens to come through: bonus; otherwise, actors are chose more for potential draw their name will bring then what a voice could do for the performance.

The thoughts and observations of the leaders of The Animation Guild (TAG), Local 839 IATSE. Jason MacLeod is the Business Representative, Laura Hohman is the President. Mike Sauer is Assistant to the Business Representative.

This weblog reflects their individual personal opinions and does not necessarily represent the official position of the Animation Guild.

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